Several months ago, I picked up the new and somewhat strange habit of collecting empty jars. I'm not quite sure why I started doing this. I am not a hoarder by nature but, one day, I was about to toss several used up sun-dried tomato jars into the recycling bin and I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
Maybe it was the bright red lids that caught my eye or the unique shape of their slim, glass bodies. Maybe I have been working at MUSE School too long and the whole sustainability thing has really gone to my brain, but since that day I have rescued many glass jars from whatever form of reincarnation they might find at the Waste Management facility.
Saving glass is not easy. It requires attention and patience. Labels are sticky. I usually have to soak the jars for at least an hour at the bottom of Charley's dish sink and then really scrub them until the label surrenders and dissolves completely.
One afternoon, a while back, Diana found me back in the dishwashing pit, after our shift had ended, and she thought I had lost my mind. We had been going through a few particularly stressful months and I guess the sight of me compulsively scrubbing was enough to alarm her.
She looked at me with her "what's going on here" look. I explained that I was saving the recycling. Some people save money, dolphins or trees. I was saving the recycling. In my head, it seemed logical... maybe even noble.
"And what are you going to do with all those jars?" she asked. And I didn't know.
Looking back on it now, I think I may have a theory on the whole empty jar thing. At the time this behavior started, I was under an extreme amount of stress. My life felt very full... maybe overflowing. And yet, conversely, there is something very peaceful and promising about an empty jar. An empty jar is not stressed out or tired or filled to the brim. In general, it doesn't have a whole lot going on. An empty jar is a jar on vacation and I guess I wanted more of that in my life. Thus, my collection began.
I now have about 20 jars, in various sizes, sitting in my kitchen cabinet and I have found them to actually be very useful. I use mine mainly for food storage purposes: homemade salad dressing, chopped garlic, fresh pressed juices...but it doesn't have to stop there.
Some people on campus have caught on to my jar collecting and it turns out, I'm not the only one who does this. Guilianna, the art teacher, has been collecting jars for years. She uses them to organize her art supplies. Shawn Greenbaum, our garden education manager, uses jars to store his plant seeds. A MUSE mother, who volunteers in the kitchen, sometimes brings me homemade soup in old jam jars. Even Diana found a cool looking, long, narrow bottle and set it aside to use as a water glass.
The whole jar project has opened my eyes to just how much glass must get sent to recycling plants every year. This Earth Day, I would challenge everyone to really consider packaging when purchasing items at the grocery store. Buy bulk whenever possible and if there are things you can't live without, like that jar of peanut butter, think twice once you've used it all up and are about to toss it out . It took time, work and resources to create that jar. Maybe you can give it a second life. Happy Earth Day everyone!
WHAT TO PUT IN YOUR JAR
Strawberry-Carrot-Orange Juice
3 quarts strawberries, washed & hulled
1# carrots, washed & tops removed
12 oranges, peeled
Using an electric juicer, press
the fruits and vegetables according
to the manufacturer's directions.
